Dallas Mavericks Blog

Chris Kaman gets another shot at concussion test Wednesday

Chris Kaman will try the NBA’s concussion test again Wednesday, but even if he passes, he probably won’t play against the Trail Blazers.

He understands that the league takes the well-being of its players seriously, especially when it comes to head injuries, which Kaman suffered more than a week ago when he hit the floor hard.

But it still doesn’t make sitting out when he feels fine otherwise any easier.

“It’s the stupidest test ever,” Kaman said. “For so many years in the NBA, they never had to do that stuff, and now they come up with all that concussion protocol [stuff].

“It’s not cool, but it is cool, I guess. It keeps people safe. I just try to do the right things and wait until I can pass the test.”

The hard part is that Kaman knows he’s not back to normal yet. He’s still got a little headache, he said.

“Hopefully, it’ll progress, I’ll take that test, pass it and hopefully be able to play sooner or later,” he said. “I’m tired of sitting around. I’d rather be playing, but at the same time, I understand there’s a proper way to do things medically to keep people safe.”

“I’m hearing about players in football not being able to think straight for the next 10 years of their life,” he said. “And taking a lot of different medications to recover what they lost. And I don’t want that to be anybody. That’s not cool, that’s not fun for anybody.”

Most likely, the earliest Kaman could return is Saturday against Golden State.

“No, I don’t think so, but then you never know,” he said of playing Wednesday. “Anything can happen in this league.”